


World Turned Upside Down

by jilylicious



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Marauders (Harry Potter), F/M, First War with Voldemort, Gen, Harry Potter References, M/M, Marauders, Marauders Friendship, Marauders' Era, Pureblood Society, jily, muggle-born James Potter, pureblood Lily Evans, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-29
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-08-27 17:46:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 17,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8410762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jilylicious/pseuds/jilylicious
Summary: Marauders Era with Muggle-born James Potter and Pureblood Lily Evans





	1. The Potter Family

Fleamont Potter was raised in an average family of 5 people. He had an older sister and an older brother. He could tell his parents loved him but his birth was a little unexpected, so he sometimes felt like he was excess. He knew he wanted to make his parents proud.

In middle school he realised his love for chemistry. His adolescence coincided with new hair styles of the 20s and 30s. He saw a future in that area, he started working after he went to college to gather some extra money to found a new company with his sister, she also waited tables to help him. Many people warned him about going into business with a woman because they thought women weren’t meant for working in companies, they belonged to their home. Fleamont strongly disagreed, he knew his sister was a strong and smart woman that could help him massively.

After a few years of hard work Fleamont finally had enough money to get into business, him and his sister bought a small factory and started producing a hair product called  _Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion_  which turned out to be a huge success. Fleamont had a successful business running before he was thirty but he wanted to have a family. When he met Euphemia during one of his business visits to local markets, he fell instantly in love. He didn’t even know her name but Fleamont starting frequenting the market even though it wasn’t on his way home and one day he finally built up to courage to meet Euphemia, she was everything and more he dreamed of.

Euphemia was the oldest of four, she was working at the market to help her father. Her mother was chronically ill therefore she couldn’t work regularly. Euphemia had dark hair and she was petite, she was 2 years younger then Fleamont. The first time she saw Fleamont, she felt her heart warm up, although she knew he wouldn’t be interested in a mundane market cashier like her. She didn’t pay much attention to how Fleamont would always go through her line every time he came in since she found it impossible that he would be interested in her.

They had many dates and finally when Fleamont asked Euphemia to marry her, she said “Yes” before he could finish the sentence. Their marriage was a happy one unlike many around them, they lived in a big home that was chosen by Fleamont, he wanted a large family and place for his children to run. However, no matter how many times they tried or how many different doctors they visited they couldn’t have children. 

Around the time Fleamont was 38 and Euphemia was 36, a miracle happened and Euphemia got pregnant. It was a quite hard pregnancy for Euphemia because there were many risks surrounding getting pregnant at her age. Fleamont provided the best care their money could provide and 9 months later their bundle of joy was born.

Fleamont named the boy James, the baby looked like him. He had black hair on his head when he was born. Fleamont and Euphemia dedicated their lives to James, Euphemia often referred to him as  _her miracle_.

James grew up being spoiled by his parents, he had messy black hair he refused to tame and mischievous hazel eyes. When he started going to primary school he was one of the most popular kids in school and James was aware, he made sure everyone knew he was the son of the inventor of  _Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion_.  

Euphemia taught James to respect anyone he meets, she told him how he met his father and if Fleamont wasn’t as humble as he was, she wouldn’t ever be interested in him. She taught him that having more money than others didn’t mean that he was superior to the others, she made sure that everything they had might be gone someday. James had great manners when he talked to older but he also liked the attention he got from his peers. He knew that what his mother taught him were important and he would live by those but when he was 10, he just didn’t care.

James was also aware that he could do some things others couldn’t dream of. He never told his parents about these weird happenings. If he left the lights on in his room after he went to bed, the light would go out on it’s own, if he broke a vase playing football in the house when his mother told him not to, the vase rematerialized in front of his eyes. James kept these to himself because he was happy with the life he was living and he felt like something was wrong with him.

James celebrated his 11th birthday on March 27th, 1971 with a big party without knowing his life would change in about three months. 


	2. The Visit

It was a very hot Saturday when James Potter decided he would just stay at home for once and help his mother get ready for the party they were planning for tomorrow. James thought it was too hot to breathe but Euphemia was running around the kitchen with their help Patricia, he never understood why his mother wouldn’t leave Patricia do all the work and would always get scolded for it. Just when he was trying to steal a chocolate truffle from the kitchen counter, he heard the door bell.

“James be a dear and get the door please, my hands are dirty” requested Euphemia.

“Sure, mum” said James and ran out the door, he almost fell but he kept running and opened the door out of breath.

“Is James Fleamont Potter home?” asked a woman with a stern face. James almost choked on his own saliva. She had her hair up in a tight knot and James felt like she stared into his soul. She was dressed in a very different manner, she had a long emerald cloak, which brought out the warmth of her eyes and she was holding a envelope in her hand.

“Um, yeah Ma’am, I am James.” said James dreadingly.

“James who is that?” shouted Euphemia from the kitchen.

“You should come and see for yourself, I can’t—I don’t know” James shouted back. He really had no idea how to explain this.

Euphemia came out of the kitchen with a towel in her hand and scanned the woman standing at their door step.

“Can I help you with anything, Miss?” demanded Euphemia.

“Minerva, please. I am here to talk to you about your son’s education Mrs. Potter, if I could come inside?” replied the woman. “I am Transfiguration professor in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and I am here to tell you that James has been accepted to our school.” she continued. Both Euphemia and James were gaping at the stern woman.

“I know it can be hard to take in so if I could just come inside. Muggles are very suspicious of people in cloaks for whatever reason.” she added.

“I- I hope you don’t find this funny Minerva; you are being ridiculous. I’m going to have to ask you to leave. Come here James.” and with that Euphemia just the door in the face of Minerva.

James however was intrigued, he was thinking about all the things he could do when something he didn’t want happened, he started thinking maybe it could be true. When Euphemia and James returned to the kitchen they both started screaming because the woman, Minerva, was standing in front of them.

“I hate it has to be like this Mrs. Potter but you have to listen to me because I am very serious and I am not joking.” Pleaded McGonagall, she was holding a wooden stick in her hand. Patricia came running into the kitchen but was sent away by Euphemia the moment she entered.

“Patricia, call the police!” uttered Euphemia to the young girl.

“No!” shouted James, it came out a little louder than he expected and Patricia froze on spot. “I- I always thought they were some kind of weird thing that happened to me. When I regret doing something, like breaking that ancient vase at the entrance—”

“You broke my vase?!” demanded Euphemia, she sounded very angry.

“It’s not broken anymore mum, because I fixed it. I was very afraid how you would react and suddenly the vase was exactly as it was. I never told you because I thought you would think I was possessed or something. That kid Ryan’s mum brought a priest to the house because he was behaving bad and I, I got scared” confessed James.

“So you are, uh, you are a wizard?” said Euphemia in shock then she turned to Minerva. “Is he a wizard or whatever you call it?” she asked frantically.

“Yes, he is and he will be attending to Hogwarts to learn about it, that is if you let him.” replied the professor.

“I- we need to discuss this with my husband, do we need to decide now?” inquired Euphemia.

“Yes, of course. Here’s your letter James. I hope you join us on September 1st. You’ll have to go to Diagon Alley to buy the equipment you need if you decide to come. Go to Leaky Cauldron on Charing Cross Road in London, your parents won’t see it but you will James and they will help you with the rest” Minerva explained.

“I’m sorry I have to do just one last thing because we as the Wizarding Community don’t want people to know that Wizards exist unless they have to.” and with that she directed the wooden stick the Patricia and calmly said “ _Obliviate_ ”. Patricia walked out of the kitchen without looking back.

“What did you do to her?” stammered Euphemia, she looked as pale as paper.

“I just erased her memory of me and James’ magical abilities. Also James you can’t perform magic out of Hogwarts until you are 17, keep that in mind.” warned Minerva and with a zap she was gone leaving two very confused Potters behind.

When his father came home, Euphemia and James decided they could tell him what happened during dinner and pray he wouldn’t choke.

“So Fleamont, today a woman came to our door” started Euphemia, she was looking at James.

“Mm-hm” muttered Fleamont, he was busy cutting a huge chunk of steak. Euphemia had made his favourite dinner.

“Yeah, umm, so she said that I was a wizard” blurted out James. Just as expected Flemont was choking on a piece of steak he just put into his mouth, when he stopped coughing, he began laughing.

“I thought Halloween was months away” and he kept laughing.

“He is serious, love” interrupted Euphemia looking a little uncomfortable, his husband’s first reaction obviously scared her.

“Oh- you- What?” said Fleamont, his eyes were shifting between his wife and son. “If this is a joke it is not a funny one.”

“No, dad. I- Some weird things happened to me from the age of 5, I think, and I just kept them to myself because I thought you would leave me because I was a—a _freak_.” admitted James, he looked scared. James left the table to fetch the envelope from the kitchen counter.

“Here, you can read about it” and he gave the letter to his father.

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL _of_  WITCHCRAFT  _and_  WIZARDRY**

 

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,  
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

 

Dear Mr. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at  _Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

 

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

“I- this is very real isn’t it? I’m not dreaming or anything?” asked Fleamont.

“No, _very_ real. We saw her do m-magic.” replied Euphemia letting out a long sigh. Fleamont was looking at the other page of the letter.

“All these books and things where are we going to buy all these?”

“So, you’ll let me go?” said James excitedly.

“Of course, I will. If this is what you are, you will get the best education there is Jamie.” announced Fleamont with a grin on his face. “Now go and reply to this letter. Though I can’t see an address.”

“Yeah, there’s an owl waiting at the kitchen window” muttered James.

“Owl? They mean serious business.” smiled Fleamont and gave his wife a wink, she was smiling back with pride.

James ran upstairs and wrote a quick but proper reply on a paper and went to the kitchen. The owl was looking at him, it was brown and looked stern like the Professor. _Now, what?_ It was like the owl understood him, he stretched out a leg. James tied the reply to the leg of the owl with a ribbon he found in the kitchen and watched as the owl soared into the night.


	3. Diagon Alley

August felt like a year rather than a month to James. They decided to go to Diagon Alley Professor McGonagall mentioned a week before James left. His father seemed as excited as he was after he saw that James would be learning potions. His interest in chemistry had reached a new peak after he heard that the wizards had their own version of it.

“I knew it was a noble subject, even wizards have chemistry” said Fleamont to his son, both had a glint in their eyes. When it was finally the day to go to Diagon Alley, James could barely contain himself. The Potters made their way to Charing Cross Road in London as Minerva explained. James suddenly stopped in front of what seemed like an empty building.

“James why are you staring at an empty building, love?” asked his mother but it wasn’t empty, it was a small place with an old sign hanging above it’s crooked door: _Leaky Cauldron_.

“Because that building is not empty” smiled James. He held his mother’s hand and lead her through the small door.

It wasn’t empty alright. The place was filled with weird looking people; it was a bar filled with different creatures and humans. James felt his mother tremble slightly and saw his father looking amazed by the reality of all this. They stood out among the guests of the bar, a few people were looking at them and whispering to each other. Until a giant, yes a giant, made their way to them.

“You mus’ be a new student, yeah?” asked the giant softly, the Potters nodded in unison. “Me name’s Hagrid. I’m the Groundskeeper of Hogwarts.” continued Hagrid. James could feel his mother’s nails in his shoulder.

“I- I was wondering if you could help us get to the Diagon Alley, sir” said James kindly.

“’Course, ‘course. Follow me” said the giant and the Potters obeyed. They got out through the back door and stood in front of a brick wall.

“Now, what?” said Fleamont sarcastically, Euphemia shot him a disapproving look, she was very much aware that they were with a giant.

“We don’ wan’ Muggles comin’ in here do we?” replied Hagrid.

“Muggles?” demanded James.

“Non-magic people, like your parents.” explained Hagrid with a smile as he tapped some of the bricks on the wall. For a giant, he was too friendly but James liked him.

All of a sudden the bricks started to move to create an archway that opened to a cobblestoned street filled with shops and people dressed like Professor McGonagall. James muttered a “Thank you” to Hagrid and stepped on the street. He almost crashed into a red haired girl who had twins with her a little younger than she was.

“This place gets more and more crowded by the year, I swear. Gideon, Fabian do not touch the OWLS!” screeched the girl after James bumped into her.

“Mols, why can’t we have an owl like you?” the boys pleaded but she didn’t look like someone you could persuade easily.

They continued walking. According to his list of school supplies, he needed a lot of books. He made his way to what seemed like a bookstore, it’s name was _Flourish and Blotts_. As soon as he stepped into the shop the clerk came with his books.

When James looked at him surprised, he simply said “You look like a first year. When you’ve done this job as long as I did, you can tell which grade students are by one look.”

Fleamont gave the clerk the money but the clerk looked at him like he was an alien.

“Umm, sir, uh this is Muggle money. You can’t use these in here.” said the clerk, slightly ashamed.

“Oh, sure.” replied Fleamont with a smile, the clerk was visibly relaxed. “So, what do we do?” he asked.

“You should go down the road to Gringotts, it’s the white crooked building.” replied the Clerk. “Maybe your parents shouldn’t go in, because they are non-magic, go in and say to the Goblin sitting in the highest chair that you are a new Hogwarts student and you want to get Wizard money. I will keep your books, don’t worry” he explained to the Potters who looked like they just swallowed a big pill.

“I’m sorry did you say Goblins?” asked Euphemia.

“Yes Ma’am, not the friendliest of creatures.” said the clerk.

“What a relief” muttered James’ mother and they made their way to Gringotts. It was visible from the bookstore; it was the only white building on Diagon Alley.

James took a good amount of money from his father and went inside, it was an enormous building. There were goblins sitting on either side of the corridor James was walking down. When he reached the end, he saw the Goblin the clerk was talking about. He cleared his throat and tried to sound as confident as he can.

“Um, I’m a new student at Hogwarts—” The goblin stretched out a hand with long and dirty nails, James put the money in it’s hand. The goblin went away and came back with a medium sized pouch.

“Thank you” said James and bowed a little, that’s what his parents had taught him and he walked out of the bank as quickly as he could.

They went back to the bookstore to pay for the books, but they couldn’t handle the currency so they let the clerk deal with it. Now, it was time to buy a cauldron.

James looked around to read the signs on the shops, when they reached Potage’s Cauldron Shop, his father was more excited than he was.

“Maybe, I could buy one too?” he asked excitedly.

“I think you should wait for me to ask my teachers in Hogwarts if you can do this dad.” said James, he appreciated his father’s enthusiasm but also he was afraid he could do something wrong.

“Alright, alright” babbled Mr Potter.

James had all of his books and cauldron, when he spotted _Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions_ , if he was going to be a wizard he needed to dress like them. The hat looked ridiculous but they bought them anyways. They also bought a winter cloak from Madam Malkin’s, James figured the school was far up north.

“I need a wand” said James to his parents. His mother pointed to an old looking shop and they entered together.

There was a man maybe in his late 60s reading something from a parchment.

“Oh hello! My name’s Ollivander, producer of finest wands since I don’t know when anymore” he chuckled. “How may I help you?” asked the man.

“I need a wand, sir. If you can help me out-” answered James, he was slightly scared but very excited.

“Let’s try a few out” suggested Ollivander as he made his way to a small corridor who had small boxes all around. He came back with 5 boxes and he took the wands out carefully and gave each one to James one by one.

James had no idea what he was supposed to do but when he touched the fourth wand he felt a warmth spread through his body.

“Mahogany, 11 inches, pliable then” concluded Ollivander.

“But, sir, how did you know?”

“The wand chooses the wizard my dear child and I understand wands better than I understand most people” said the wand maker with a smile.

They stopped by a few more shops and when the list was finished James saw the note at the end of the letter warning parents that the first years weren’t allowed broomsticks.

“Why would I ever want a broomstick” asked James curiously.

“Heavens know, Jamie” answered his mother and with all his school supplies complete, they left Diagon Alley the same way they came in.


	4. 9 ¾

Finally, the day James waited for a month came. He took his trunk downstairs all by himself much to his mother’s surprise and patiently waited for his parents. They went to the King’s Cross where the train to Hogwarts would be leaving.

James Potter looked at the ticket he was holding in his hands. He read it twice to make sure he wasn’t dreaming, the ticket  _actually_  said 9¾.

“Nine and  _three quarters_. They are kidding right?” asked James to his mother who looked as confused as he was. 

“I’m sure we can find someone to help us sweetheart, maybe you can ask them” pointed Euphemia to a family of four people, one of the girls was carrying a black cat in her arms and the other one had a white and gold feathered owl in a cage. 

James felt a jolt in his stomach as the family approached, the girl carrying the cat had flaming dark red hair and was extremely pretty, especially when she laughed. Her parents looked scary, they were dressed like they were going to a funeral and James would have never said they were the parents of the little girl with red hair, she looked way too much  _alive_  to be their daughter.

“James are you going to ask  _today_ , buddy?” said Fleamont realising his son wasn’t moving.

“Oh yeah, right.” replied James and hurried off to catch the family. As he approached them he saw the parents get sterner than they were before as if it was possible. Their dad had piercing green eyes and their mother had a perfectly structured face, the little girl was an ideal mix of them with a hint of red however her sister was not as lucky. She also had the structure of her mother’s face but the rest of her was not interesting compared to the red haired girl. James politely stopped in front of them and bowed a little before starting to speak.

“I am sorry; I was wondering if you could help me find the Platform 9¾” asked James as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He did that whenever he was nervous.

“That’s what happens if you send letters to  _Mudbloods_ ” muttered the woman with apparent disgust on her face. The red haired girl turned sharply around to look at her mother.

_Mudblood, what’s a Mudblood?_

“Isabel dear, let’s go, we can’t waste time with this. Go on girls” instructed their father.

The rest of the family proceeded but the red haired girl didn’t budge.

“Lilith come on dear, we need–” 

“I told you to not call me Lilith mother, I prefer Lily” interrupted the girl.

“You will not speak to me like that again Lilith especially in public!” said her mother sternly.

“You have to run through the wall between the platforms 9 and 10, they really should write that in letters for Muggles”, explained Lily and walked away after she smiled at James.

 “Thank you” shouted James after the girl and went next to his parents.

“You need to _what_?” Euphemia was astounded.

“Run through the wall between platforms 9 and 10″ said James calmly, this was the fifth time he had to repeat that.

“A-alright then dear, let’s go there.” continued Euphemia as he put a warm hand on his son’s shoulder. 

“Sometimes I feel like someone is making fun of us with all these wizard things.” said James’ father with a grin on his face, James had the exact same grin as his father.

They were standing in front of a wall. James built up all the courage he had, he felt like he was going to crash into the wall but nevertheless he decided to try.

“Alright here goes nothing, come after me if I manage to disappear, yeah?” asked James to his parents and after receiving reassuring nods from both of their pale faces, he got ready to run, there was no way he could calmly walk. 

James shut his eyes firmly as he approached the wall and he suddenly felt a breeze and heard many voices coming from the crowd around him, he had made it. A few moments later he was joined by his parents who looked relieved and confused.

There was a scarlet train in front of them labelled  _Hogwarts Express_  with big gold letters. James and his parents made their way to the train. After James put his luggage in the train, he went back to say goodbye to his parents.

“Jamie, I don’t know how this works but as soon as you get there send us a letter with your address so we can reach you” said Euphemia frantically while trying to fix his son’s hair.

“Euphemia we should have gotten him an owl;  _everyone_  has an owl in this place” complained Fleamont as he looked around.

“Don’t worry dad, I really don’t want an owl. They look scary” soothed James and he looked at the clock, it was almost 11 o’clock.

“I need to get on the train” he said guiltily, he felt bad about leaving his parents but this new adventure sounded amazing.

“Be good, kind and humble” said Euphemia as he kissed his son over and over again.

“Listen to your mother and we will see you on Christmas Jamie” added his father as he hugged James earning a nudge in the stomach from his wife for making fun of her.

James got on the train and waved at his parents as Euphemia shouted “Don’t forget to write” as the train started moving.

James had no idea where he was going, had no idea what being a wizard was about but he was sure, he was going to have some  _serious_  fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have decided to upload everything I have written so far, so you can get a general idea how this will go. I hope you enjoy.


	5. Hogwarts Express

James made his way into the train, determined to find an empty compartment and let people come to him rather than him going to them. This method seemed to work in his old school. They decided to tell the teachers and students that James was going to a private boarding school, they haven’t come up with the reason yet so there were many rumours surrounding his departure but James didn’t care. He was going to become a wizard; he could do magic. He didn’t know anyone else that possessed this particular talent.

He finally found an empty compartment and settled in, there wasn’t much to do so he started looking out of the window and watched London disappear slowly. Then he heard the compartment door open, a chubby boy with blond hair was making his way in.

“Sorry, mate all the other compartments are full so I won’t bother asking you if I can come in. I’m Peter.” said the new boy and stretched his hand to shake, James liked that he was direct so he took his hand and shook it.

“I’m James, James Potter.” said James proudly.

“Your first year, too?” asked Peter.

“Yeah, I found out I’m a wizard a few months ago actually” replied James grinning.

“Oh you are a muggle born! My parents are both Muggles but they went to Hogwarts, too. They are wizards I mean” explained the blonde boy. He wasn’t like James’ friends from his previous school he looked comfortable with himself, James would have said he had to lose a few pounds but it didn’t look like he cared.

“What’s with this Muggle mess anyways? A woman called me a “Mudblood” at the station, what is that supposed to mean?” queried James, Peter had gasped at the word Mudblood.

“Oh, Merlin you have so much to learn Jamie” exclaimed Peter. “Mudblood is a very mean word Purebloods use for people like you, people who are Muggles with magic in their blood. When you think about it I’m technically a Mudblood aren’t I?” said Peter grinning.

“You are okay with this?” demanded James, so he wasn’t the best kind of wizard, he didn’t like the idea.

“Mate, there’s nothing good about being a Pureblood, they are not better than you and me. They have magic, we have magic. To stay a Pureblood, the Sacred 28 have been marrying each other for years. It’s disgusting actually” noted Peter with a scrunched up face.

Just when James was about to ask more questions the compartment door opened, a elderly lady was standing with a trolley.

“Anything from the trolley dears?”

“Leave this to me” said Peter with a smile and leapt to his feet, he came back with loads of candy and cakes. James liked this boy already.

“So Peter, what the heck is the Sacred 28?” wondered James.

“Oh sorry, the Sacred 28 are twenty-eight families that are Purebloods, there are no Muggles in those families, purely Wizards” explained Peter, he was very patient.

“Alright, so I stay away from the Purebloods then?”

“Not from all of them, a few of them are really bad though” revealed Peter. James swore he would prove that your blood doesn’t matter to those stuck up ones.

“Now, please explain what these are Pete, I have no idea they don’t look like regular candy” said James with a shy smile. This was very different to him, he was usually the one that did the explaining.

“Let’s start this one”, he was holding a blue box. “These are chocolate frogs, they have literally frogs made of chocolate in them and they can move, don’t be afraid.” He gave one to James and when James opened the box a brown frog jumped on his knee.

“Catch him!” yelled Peter. James always had good reflexes, he held the frog but couldn’t put it in his mouth. “Come on Jamie, it won’t kill you” teased Peter and James put it in his mouth, it tasted like regular chocolate, he felt relieved.

“Now look at your card, you can collect those. I have a massive collection but I left it home” said Peter.

“It’s Nicholas Flamel. Who’s that?” wondered James.

“You have information about them on cards, you’ll learn in time” replied Peter.

“Up next we have Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans. Some flavours are not very lovely” he cautioned. “I once ate a Brussel sprout one, it was a nightmare but I have heard worse, so be careful I don’t want you throwing up on me” added Peter, he was enjoying himself far too much.

They tried out a few beans without getting really bad ones, James was having so much fun and he wasn’t even in Hogwarts yet. Then the compartment door opened, this time it was a boy with black hair and grey eyes that came in.

“Do you mind?” he said shortly

“Um, no” replied Peter straightening himself up, for the first time he looked uncomfortable.

The boy had high cheekbones and a structured jawline, he reminded James a little bit of the red headed girl’s mother.

“And you are?” demanded James, he was a bit annoyed that this stranger came in without introducing himself.

“Oh, sorry, I’m Sirius” he replied smiling, “I had my mind on something else, pardon my manners” he added.

“You are a Black, aren’t you?” spat Peter. James looked at him because he never thought Peter could be mean to someone, he was so good to him.

“I- Is it written on my face?”

“No, it’s the eyes. I am Peter by the way, sorry for the harsh question” apologised Peter, he didn’t sound very genuine though. “And this is James, I have been teaching him the Wizarding families and candies” he added, he was waiting for something to happen.

“Hey James, nice to meet you” said Sirius warmly and he suddenly turned to Peter. “Are you trying to see if I will jump on him?” sneered Sirius.

“Yes actually. James, do you remember how I told you about Pureblood families, well Sirius here is from one of them, the Most Noble and Ancient House of Blacks” declared Peter. “They are one of the leading Purist families” he continued. James could see Sirius’ fist clenching, he didn’t say a word, he had a feeling Sirius wasn’t like that woman.

“You know what? Just because my family is disgusting, doesn’t mean that I am, too, you idiot!” shouted Sirius, he looked really angry. “I did not choose the family I was born in! No one asked me if I wanted to be in that hideous family with their stupid values and relentless rules, no one cares what I—”

“Alright, _alright_ I’m sorry” apologised Peter frantically. “I guess I should stop judging people by their last names mate” he said to James, he gave Sirius an apologetic look as he did.

“Yes, you should” confirmed Sirius. “Because I hate my last name.”

They sat quietly for a while, James saw the boredom in Sirius’ eyes.

“So, what house are you going to be in?” he asked.

“House?” said James.

“So, there are four houses in Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. You are placed in one of those houses according to your personality and you stay there until you graduate” explained Peter, James appreciated his patience.

“I am going to be a Gryffindor for sure” announced Sirius, Peter was gaping at him.

“Aren’t all Blacks, like, uh, in Slytherin?” he stammered.

“Yes and that’s exactly why I won’t be a Slytherin” answered Sirius proudly.

“Oh, that makes sense mate, sorry”

“No worries Petey” said Sirius.

James felt scared, what if he was placed in Slytherin? Peter didn’t talk well about them at all, but he was a Muggleborn so he felt like, he wouldn’t be placed in that house if the teachers knew how the Blacks are.

“We should get dressed, we are about to arrive” warned Peter, and took out his dress robes from his trunk. James followed his lead and did exactly what he did.

After getting dressed up, James sat by the window once again. He saw a small village far away, _that must be the place_ he thought to himself. The village didn’t look magical or whatsoever. About 15 minutes later the train started slowing down and came to a halt. James felt his heart beat a little faster than it should. He got up and made his way out of the compartment with Sirius and Peter.


	6. Sorting Ceremony

When James got out of the train, he saw the giant who helped him in the Diagon Alley.

“Firs’ years, firs’ years this way!” he yelled while waving his huge hand. While James was passing by him, he smiled at Hagrid and received a smile back from him. He followed Sirius and Peter to a lake where more than a dozen boats were waiting for them.

“Let’s get on!” yelled Sirius as he made his way to a boat, so they got on a boat together. All the students were in a boat except for the red haired girl and a boy who looked like he hasn’t washed his hair for at least a week.

“I’ll see you inside Sev” said Lily to the boy. “The boats are made for four people, go get on the one at the end and I’ll go with Sirius and his new friends” she continued and got on the boat seating herself next to James.

“Hey there Sirius, we thought you jumped off or something” said Lily grinning then she turned to James. “Oh I remember you! My name is Lily. Did you get through well?” she asked.

“James. Yes, we did, thanks” replied James coldly, he still couldn’t get over her family but Lily’s green eyes were almost enough to make him forget.

“You are?” this time she directed her question to Peter.

“Peter, nice to meet you Lily” answered Peter politely.

“I am very excited about the Sorting Ceremony” continued Lily, James still couldn’t believe she was the daughter of two human stones.

“What is there to be excited about Lils? You’ll end up in Slytherin like all our noble ancestors did” commented Sirius.

“I love how you keep denying you are a Black, Sirius. However, you never know, it’s for Sorting Hat to decide” said Lily in a know-it-all matter. When Lily turned around to look at the castle, Sirius made a convincing impression of her.

Then James saw the castle. He heard a few “ooh”s and “aah”s around him. It wasn’t like anything he had seen before, it looked magnificent with all the lights from it’s numerous windows.

“Be careful not to fall in the lake while starin’ at the castle!” warned Hagrid, he was occupying a boat by himself.

“They say that there’s a giant squid in this lake. If someone falls, we’ll learn if it’s true or not” exclaimed Sirius. Lily gave him a disapproving look while James and Peter grinned.

They reached the other side of the lake without anyone falling in the lake much to Sirius’ disappointment.

“At least that Snape kid could have fallen, your parents hate him already, they would have enjoyed it, right Evans?” teased Sirius, James could tell he was enjoying himself very much.

“Piss off, Sirius” said Lily and walked away to the boy Sirius referred to as Snape.

“ _Language_ Evans, Isabel dear wouldn’t approve!” he shouted after her, smirking.

They made their way to the castle, when they reached the big door opened, letting them in. James understood why they would need winter cloaks, even if it was September, he felt a little cold but then again, maybe that was excitement.

They climbed a staircase and stopped in front of the stern looking witch that came to James’ house a few months ago to tell him that he was a wizard.

“My name is Professor McGonagall. I’ll be your Transfiguration professor after you are sorted into your houses. Now, please make a line and follow me into the Great Hall” instructed Professor McGonagall. James made a note of never upsetting her, he didn’t want to think about the consequences. He thought about how fun Transfiguration would be, he stood next to Peter and turned around to check who Sirius was with. A relatively taller boy with dark blond curls and a pale face was on the right of Sirius.

They entered the Great Hall and all the other students turned to see them. The other Professors were seated right across the hall on a long table. On each side of the line were two more long tables which James assumed were the tables for each house.

In front of the Professor’s table was an old and warn out hat standing on a stool. As soon as they settled, a voice resembling to someone clearing his throat came from the hat and it started singing. _A hat? Singing?_ James was just gaping at the hat while looking around, he was one of the few who looked as shocked. He was in such a state that he missed most of the song but he caught the most important part:

You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
Set Gryffindors apart;

_That sounds nice, Sirius wanted to be a Gryffindor!_

You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
And unafraid of toil;

_They sound very friendly and like my mother, she would like it if I get in that house._

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
if you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;

_And this is the one my father would love..._

Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folks use any means  
To achieve their ends.

_They don’t sound as bad as Sirius and Peter talks about them, those are just two families maybe the rest isn’t that bad. I don’t see anything wrong with being ambitious._

When the Hat finished his song, the Hall erupted into applause. Afterwards, Professor McGonagall came holding a scroll.

“When I read your name, you’ll sit on the stool and put the head. After Sorting Hat announces your house, you’ll go to the according table” she explained and started reading names.

Professor McGonagall started reading the names off of the parchment and when it was Sirius’ turn the whole Hall became silent.

“Black, Sirius!”

Sirius walked slowly but confidently to the stool, he sat and put the hat on. The hat looked ready to announce but James could see how Sirius’ eyes were closed in concentration.

“Very well then, Gryffindor!” announced the Sorthing Hat. James heard a collective gasp from the table on the farther left, he guessed that was the Slytherins with greens and silvers. Even professors looked shock but James was happy for Sirius, because he got what he wanted. He smiled at him when he winked while walking to the Gryffindor table. A blond girl yelled “You are done for Sirius” from the Slytherin table.

“Oh I don’t think so Cissy” said Sirius in return smirking. The blonde girl was very beautiful even though she was fuming.

“Ms. Black please sit down! I don’t want to take points from Slytherin before the schools starts” ordered McGonagall, James heard a few giggles from the other tables. After that there were a few Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs.

“Evans, Lilith!”

Lily made her way to the hat and put it on. The hat took longer than it did before, it looked thoughtful.

“Well isn’t this a particular year!” said the hat, he was bemused. “Gryffindor!”

Again, the table on the farther left gasped in unison. James turned to see Sirius’ face, he looked baffled. They caught each others eyes Sirius looked like he was saying “How?!”, James shrugged his shoulders in return. He wanted to be in Gryffindor more and more.

“Lupin, Remus”

It was the pale boy who came in with Sirius. He slowly walked to the stool, he looked positively scared and also James felt like he didn’t fit in for some reason. The hat thought for a moment or two.

“Gryffindor!”

The boy looked taken aback, like he never expected that to happen. James however was getting excited by the minute.

“Pettigrew, Peter!”

James gave Peter a small pat on the shoulder as he made his way to the stool. The chubby boy sat on the stool and put the hat on with a smile on his face. Sorting Hat thought about it a bit then just as he did several times before he shouted “Gryffindor!”

Alright, now James was sure he wanted to be in Gryffindor.

“Potter, James”

_Don’t fall down, don’t fall down._

He sat on the stool and put the hat on unsurely.

“Well hello there, Mister. I see a lot of wit, very protective of the people you love. Very good. You could do well in Hufflepuff”

James felt his heart sink.

“Oh so no to Hufflepuff? Alright then I guess you leave me no choice but” he kept talking but suddenly he yelled “Gryffindor!”. James jumped a little, then looked at the Gryffindor table, Sirius and Peter were beaming. James made his way to the table proudly and sat down next to Peter and across the new kid.

When all of the first years were sorted, the man who James assumed was the Headmaster Dumbledore walked in front of the table and smiled at all of them, he held himself different than someone his age would have.

“Welcome! Welcome back to Hogwarts and our first years, welcome to the next chapter of your life. I know that you are starving, me too, I went to the kitchens before this and--“ he realized he was going off topic, he ran his hands over his long beard and cleared his throat.

“As I was saying, I know you are starving so I will keep this short.” he said. “Forbidden Forest is, as the name suggests, forbidden to all students. Our groundskeeper Hagrid may put an arrow through you if you decide to roam around in the middle of the night.” Explained Dumbledore with a smile on his face, James heard nothing to smile about but then again he already decided that Dumbledore wasn’t a regular person.

“Now dig in!” he exclaimed and went back to his seat. When James turned to the table, he saw at least ten different dishes on the table, he had no idea where these came from and he didn’t care at all. The train ride was long and he only had candy to feed on.

James always thought school food was a nightmare but these tasted nothing like anything he ever had. Euphemia was a very skilled cook and somehow her cooking seemed average next to this feast. After James ate a few things, he started looking around. Peter was already on his third serving, Sirius was in the middle of biting a huge chunk from a chicken leg and the new kid, _what was his name? oh Remus, yes_ , Remus was playing with his food.

“Oi, Sirius? Who was that girl that shouted at you after your sorting?” asked James curiously.

“That, Jamie, is one third of the infamous Black sisters. They are the daughters of my mother's older brother and everyone of them is another gem as you can see. This is the younger one Narcissa.” explained Sirius carelessly.

“She seems lovely” joked Peter, earning a smack on the head from Sirius.

“I’m pretty sure she already wrote to Mummy dearest about my house.” he said matter-of-factly and turned to Lily. “Hey Evans! What do you say we open our Howlers at the same time tomorrow, eh?” suggested Sirius.

“Howler?”

“You’ll see tomorrow, Jamie” smiled Peter.

“Well Black, we already have a Gryffindor in the family so I don’t think mine will be as much of a problem as yours. The heir of the Black house in Gryffindor? Well that’s worthy of front page news for Daily Prophet” answered Lily, she was grinning.

“Who is a Gryffindor in that marvelous family of yours?” teased Sirius but he looked a little worried.

“My grandma from my mother side, the one who named Petunia, Mother hates that name” she looked like she was enjoying herself.

During their conversation the feast had disappeared now instead there were desserts everywhere. James felt like he couldn’t eat anymore but who could say no to pudding? Not James.

Even though James was having so much fun, he felt bad for Remus. He didn’t seem like an outgoing type but at least he could have joined in every now and then. When James finished his pudding, the tables were spotless. Dumbledore once again stood up and talked over their chatting with a loud voice which James assumed was magnified by something.

“Now off to bed all of you! We need you at your best tomorrow!” Dumbledore said and with that everyone started walking out.

James, Sirius and Peter followed a boy who said he was the Prefect when they came to the stairs the Prefect came to a halt and turned to them:

“Mind the stairs, they are very tricky and they like to change when there are students on them. I suggest you get up earlier tomorrow because you will probably get lost” he explained.

“Well, they should give us a map then don’t they?” whispered Sirius.

“I guess they enjoy our misery” replied Peter.

 _Moving stairs?_ thought James, this place was getting weirder by the minute. They climbed for what it felt like hours and they finally stopped in front of the portrait of a woman.

“Our dormitory is accessible by a password. Forget it, you can’t get in so I suggest you memorize it now, she usually likes using flower names: _Helianthus_.” he concluded and the portrait swung open. They walked inside a relatively large room with a couch in front of the fireplace, some places to study and numerous very comfortable looking armchairs. The room was decorated red and golden, there were banners everywhere, James could tell Hogwarts took house pride very serious.

“Your dorm rooms are upstairs; you will see that your trunks have already been brought up. Goodnight!” he said as he left to go sit with his friends.


	7. Howlers

James, Sirius and Peter made their way upstairs with Remus by their side, he still hadn’t said a word.

“So this is our room for seven years now?” demanded James when they entered the room with four four-poster beds with curtains around them.

“If that’s so I wish all of you good luck living with me” said Sirius with a smirk.

“I’m pretty sure you are an angel compared to me Black.” replied Peter, he had a challenging tone to his voice.

While they were talking, James saw Remus get into his bed and draw the curtains.

“Did we do something wrong?” he asked the other two and they replied by shrugging their shoulders. Remus was going to have to talk soon enough.

The boys slowly climbed their beds as they said _Goodnight_ to each other and fell asleep soon after.

James woke up to Sirius wreaking havoc in the room.

“Wake up you idiots! It’s our first day!” he yelled, if this was how he was going to be woken up everyday, he had to do something about it.

“Alright, alright we are up, you maniac!” replied Peter while throwing his pillow at Sirius, he dodged it easily.

“My mother shoots spells around the house for fun Pettigrew, you need do better than that!” he said grinning. Then he turned to the bed across him when he heard Remus shuffle.

“How does he keep sleeping with all this noise?” asked Sirius, “Anyways let’s go and have some breakfast” he added.

They got dressed and made their way to Great Hall without stairs changing. The breakfast was as magnificent as the dinner last night. James felt like he was going to gain some weight during his education here, his mother would appreciate it.

As they were having their breakfast, James saw a flock of owls enter through the open windows on ceiling and automatically covered his head, thinking he was going to be attacked.

“Calm down Jamie, they are just dropping letters” explained Peter.

“Oh, okay” said James, a little embarrassed. He turned to Sirius who was sitting on his left, he was holding a black letter in his hand, he saw a similar red one in Lily’s hands.

“Well I guess I was wrong Black, mother is _not_ happy” she said, looking grimly at the envelope in her hands.

“I’m gonna go first, Evans” announced Sirius and after the nod of approval from Lily, he slowly opened the letter.

“SIRIUS ORION BLACK!” shouted the letter, whoever wrote the letter sounded extremely angry, James couldn’t believe a letter would talk but let alone angrily shout. Sirius just stared at the letter as he stared at the letter straight-faced.

“YOU HAVE DISGRACED THE NAME OF OUR FAMILY! HOW _DARE_ YOU BE PROUD OF NOT BEING IN SLYTHERIN? OH YES I KNOW, THANKS TO NARCISSA.

HOW _DARE_ YOU TALK TO HER LIKE THAT? YOU’LL TALK TO DUMBLEDORE OR WHOEVER IS IN CHARGE AND CHANGE YOUR _DAMN_ HOUSE RIGHT THIS SECOND OR YOUR FATHER WILL TAKE YOUR RIGHT TO THE HEIR!” echoed the voice of Sirius’ mother before the letter rip itself to pieces.

“Well I bet yours is not like this, Evans” said Sirius as if nothing had happened. All of the student body and Professors were staring at them but he didn’t seem to care. “I should write to Regulus, they will make his life a living hell, too. As if it wasn’t already terrible” added Sirius and he left.

“Sirius, do you want us to come with you” asked Peter, but he turned it down with a gesture of his hand.

“You should leave him alone, he seems like he doesn’t care, but he does” explained Lily as she was opening her letter.

“LILITH EVANS!”

“Ooh, the same start, this is going to be _fun_ ” teased Lily but everyone looked at her with fear.

“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU ARE IN GRYFFINDOR, I THOUGHT I RAISED YOU RIGHT! WE WILL TALK ABOUT THIS WHEN YOU GET BACK ON CHRISTMAS! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU WOULD RISK THE NAME OF OUR FAMILY LIKE THIS! I HOPE YOU DON’T BEFRIEND THE WRONG SORTS LILITH OR SO HELP ME MERLIN I WILL MAKE SURE YOU DON’T GO TO THAT SCHOOL EVER AGAIN” shouted Lily’s mother and the letter ate itself like it did before.

The smile on Lily’s face faded at that last sentence. The girls started talking with her to make sure she’s alright.

“What was that?!” said Remus as he was sitting next to Peter.

“Oh so he _talks_!” exclaimed Peter. “That’s a howler for getting in the wrong house” he added.

“I can understand that, thank you” answered Remus. “I just didn’t understand why”

“Because I am an Evans, and Evans members don’t get sorted into Gryffindors like half-bloods and mu-muggle-borns. Idiotic if you ask me but Mother disagrees” clarified Lily.

Just as she finished explaining Sirius came back in the hall and sat next to James.

“Sirius, did you know Remus talks?!” teased Peter.

“Merlin, really?” answered Sirius, winking to Remus. “Welcome to the club, mate”

“Thanks” muttered Remus as he ate his breakfast.

As they were talking McGonagall came to their table and asked to see Sirius and Lily in private when they came back they both were smiling from ear to ear, when they asked what happened neither replied. Then McGonagall came back with their schedules.

“Alright, we have Transfiguration first, then Defense Against the Dark Arts with Slytherin” announced Peter.

“Oh that should be fun” commented Sirius.

“Why does everyone talk bad about Slytherins because a few families are bad? I don’t get it” demanded James.

“Well, Jamie when most of the families with bad reputation obsess over Slytherin, it’s kinda obvious that there must be something that Slytherin has that intrigues them.” said Sirius. “There’s so much you need to learn, mate”

“Also, Salazar Slytherin himself was a Purist. When the other three founders insisted that any type of wizard is welcomed to the school, Slytherin made it obvious that he would rather they only taught Purebloods. It is rumoured that he built a secret chamber in the castle and the beast inside killed someone who was a Muggle-born” told Remus.

All three boys turned and looked at him in awe. “What? I’ve read it in _Hogwarts, A History_. Where I live there isn’t anything better to do than reading” he asserted. The boys returned to looking at their schedules.

“McGonagall is the professor of Transfiguration, let’s get going I don’t want to be late to her class” exclaimed James, both Sirius and Peter nodded.

“Are you coming?” said Sirius to Remus, he looked shocked that someone would ask such a thing but he collected his things and joined them.

“So why didn’t you talk at all last night, Lupin?” asked Peter curiously. “You scared us a little”

“Sorry, I was very tired” Remus answered without meeting Peter’s gaze.

“You still don’t look very well though” said Sirius.

“Um, well I feel a little ill, don’t worry” responded Remus, he really looked quite ill but James let it go for the time being because they arrived to the classroom.

They made their way inside and sat in the second row, James with Peter and Remus with Sirius. James liked this small group of friends he had, they were different from what he had back in London but it felt right.

That day went by so fast that when all their courses were finished James couldn’t believe it. All of their lessons were generally about what they will learn through out the year and the rules in the school and the classroom. They had Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts which sounded fun. James felt like he would have the most fun in Transfiguration, he had grown fond of McGonagall unexplainably. Afterwards they had History of Magic which was taught by a ghost, Professor Binns. James almost choked when he saw the teacher come through the black board. After lunch, they had double Herbology which lasted one hour because Ms. Sprout just explained the basics.

He wrote a letter to his parents during lunch explaining his house and his new friends. He explained them how they could send a letter to him with the help of the boys and James told his father to go get an owl from Diagon Alley if it feels easier for them, they could send the owl to James so he can look after it in Hogwarts. They went to the Owlery after classes were finished, so James could send his letter with a school owl.

Afterwards they decided with the boys that they should go on the grounds and enjoy the last few days with good weather. Remus however wanted to go to the dorm but Sirius almost broke his arm trying to convince the thin boy, Sirius was so stubborn Remus had to cave in. They found themselves a spot close to the lake and under a big tree.

“So Remus, we all met on the train but we know nothing about you” said Sirius. “Now talk”

“Oh- I- Do I have to?” grunted Remus.

“Alright, Jamie here is a muggle born. I am not a muggle-born but both my parents are Muggle-born wizards. I really don’t know what I am. This chatterbox here is the heir of the Black house.” Remus gasped. “I know right but he’s a rebellious little boy, so he’s a Gryffindor” continued Peter.

“I’m as good as disowned, you don’t need to be afraid of me Remus” said Sirius grinning, “I won’t choke you in your sleep but I’m guessing you are a half-blood so you don’t have to worry as much as Jamie.”

“How did you know?” said Remus with a mischievous look on his face.

“Peter! He jokes, too!” exclaimed Sirius. “Well for starters, I never saw you in one of the horrifying parties Purists throw. That’s how I met Evans.”

“The red haired girl who had the shouting letter, yes?” asked Remus, the more he talked the more James liked him.

“Exactly. Anyways so you are not a Pureblood, also your last name is not in the Sacred 28. _Lucky you_. You are not like our friend Jamie here who wouldn’t know a Cleansweep from a Nimbus.”

“Whoa!” said Remus, he looked genuinely taken aback. James looked from one to the other like he was watching a game.

“I know right? Regulus is the one involved with Quidditch but even I know the difference” continued Sirius.

“Qui-what now?” asked James, he felt like they were talking in Chinese.

“Quidditch is a wizarding sport Jamie, like football but on broomsticks” answered Peter, he was like James’ pocket dictionary to Wizarding World.

“They run with broomsticks?!”

“No, you idiot, they fly!” yelled Sirius.

 “Oh! So that’s why everyone wants broomsticks!” blurted James, he never understood why someone would want a broomstick. It was true then, witches in the stories Euphemia told really used brooms to fly, James grinned to himself.

“Well of course, it’s not like we’d use them for cleaning” said Remus making the other boys laugh.

They heard two girls screaming at each other and all four of them turned instantly. Lily was fighting with someone they didn’t know.

“Oh, that’s Petunia. Lily’s older sister. She’s in Slytherin, I’m guessing this is about the Howler” explained Sirius.

“I can’t believe you wouldn’t wait for me to owl them myself Tuney!” yelled Lily, she sounded furious.

“Well, as an older sister I needed to let my parents know about this scandal” said Petunia as she crossed her arms.

“It is none of your business. I am the one who’s in Gryffindor, _not you_. I received that howler in front of everybody, _not you_. I can’t believe you’d do this to me Tuney” shouted Lily, she turned away and left while wiping tears away her eyes. The boy they saw on the train ran after Lily.

“Well I always liked Lily better” said Sirius when the boys returned their attention to him. “Petunia is the heir; she has to carry the name. Lily is the younger and as you can see the prettier one. Also I haven’t noticed before but I’m guessing she’s a little rebellious, too” he continued.

“Anyways back to Quidditch” said Peter. “We’ll teach you after the Flying Lessons on Wednesday. I believe the games start in October. You’ll be a Quidditch expert before you know it”

After spending a long time laying on the grass and just chatting, they made their way to the Great Hall to have dinner. They found a very red eyed Lily Evans sitting with her friend from the train, but the boy left as soon as he saw them come so they let Sirius deal with her.

“I’m not good with girls. I really am not. I think I made her cry more” complained Sirius, he seemed grateful the girls came to the table to comfort Lily. James noticed her eyes looked an even brighter green when she cried but he pushed the thought away as fast as he could. James was the wrong sort for Evans family, he would never want Lily to be in such a trouble, not that she would want him.


	8. Shortcuts

They spent their evening in their room talking more about Pureblood families and their ways. James started to understand why people didn’t particularly enjoy Slytherins but he still didn’t change his mind about all of them being the same although Sirius sounded convinced that they were.

The next day James waited an extremely agitated Sirius again but this time he had to pull him out of the bed.

“Are you serious?! Wake UP! We have Potions in dungeons and I get very irritating when I’m hungry” yelled James.

“Firstly, yes I am _Sirius_ ” grinned Sirius.

“We won’t ever be able to use that word again, will we?” complained Peter, he was right. James tried to think about other words to replace “serious” but he couldn’t think of anything.

When Sirius finally made it out of the bed and got dressed, they made their way to the Great Hall, Remus looked paler than ever.

“Mate, are you alright?” asked James with worry in his voice.

“I’m alright, I think it’s just a simple flu” answered Remus.

They had their breakfast in silence and walked to the Potions class in the dungeons. The Professor was Horace Slughorn, the head of Slytherin house. James listened to what he said intently to understand if his father could do his own potions at home, it unfortunately required a wand but James thought during summer he could help him. _Oh, I can’t use magic until I’m seventeen_ , he remembered. He swore he would find a way to make his father’s dreams come true.

Then it was time for Defense Against the Dark Arts, they were not going to learn many spells in their first year, however they were going to learn about dark creatures and how to get rid of them. They had started learning about gnomes, James always thought they were just used as garden ornaments.

Afterwards it was History of Magic and James almost fell asleep while listening to the things Professor Binns was talking about, it felt like he was telling a children’s tale.

Charms looked like an interesting subject. Peter and Sirius looked excited, too. However, Remus was absent, James and the boys figured he felt bad because of the flu and went to the dormitories. They took notes for him. It was the first lesson they started learning an incantation. It was a levitation charm. _Wingardium Leviosa_ , James kept repeating to himself making sure the “gar” was long like Professor Flitwick said. Sirius already knew how to do it along with a few other students like Lily. James however was clueless, he realized he would have to work twice as hard as everybody if he wanted to maintain his academic record from before Hogwarts. He knew the concepts were completely different but he nevertheless wanted to make his parents proud.

James, Sirius and Peter made their way to the dorm after the classes were done to check on Remus but he wasn’t in the room, Sirius suggested he might have gone to the infirmary and they let it be and decided to take a stroll around the school. The school was gigantic and Peter was sure there were weird secret passages that would make it easier to move around the school without getting lost.

They spent hours walking around and when the time for dinner came they had trouble going back to the Great Hall, it was fun nevertheless. They spent their whole night thinking about when they can do another stroll like the one they did today. James was sure a castle that was home to magic held more secrets than any other place, he had always been an unnecessarily curious boy.

Remus didn’t show himself Saturday night either, they sat down and talked about where he could be, all of them were worried. While they were talking they heard noises coming from the haunted looking house outside the school boundaries.

“Just what we were missing! A haunted house” complained Peter.

“We’ll go visit one day to see if it’s haunted for real,” suggested Sirius, Peter winced it was obvious he didn’t like haunted places even though he had ghosts around him all the time.

Sunday passed while James practiced levitating charms, he was getting good at it thanks to Sirius, he sounded impressed, too.

“For someone who didn’t know what magic was until few months ago, you are good mate,” he said after James’ quill was flying.

Remus was still nowhere to be found, so they decided it was a good idea to check the infirmary instead of making stories on their own.

When they reached the infirmary they were greeted by Madam Pomfrey, she looked like someone you wouldn’t want to cross even if her soft features didn’t suggest so.

“I’m sorry Ma’am, we are looking for our friend Remus” said Sirius politely.

“We haven’t seen him since Friday and we are a little worried” added Peter.

“Uh, yes Mr. Lupin is here, but I can’t allow you to see him. You see, umm, what he has is contagious” replied Madam Pomfrey. “But I can assure you, he will be back tomorrow”

“If you can tell him we came to visit, it would be awesome Ma’am” concluded James and after receiving an affirmative nod from the Healer, they left.

Remus was back on Monday, but he looked worse than ever. He lived off of chocolates which didn’t sound very healthy to James. He had a few scars on his hands but James figured he didn’t see them before.

Remus didn’t talk much about his sickness and the boys rolled with it, it took them almost a day to make him talk, there was no need to push. They gave him the notes from Charms, Remus looked very taken aback he thanked them countless times, like someone had never done something like this for him.


	9. Quidditch Education

Their flying lessons didn’t start until October. The third Saturday of October marked the first Quidditch game of the year between Gryffindor and Slytherin. But before that on Wednesday they had their first Flying Lesson and James was so nervous he didn’t even eat lunch. During his first month in Hogwarts he found out the most of the students already new how to use a broomstick, they learnt as they lived with at least one magical parent. There weren’t many like him.

Madame Hooch was a young woman with long blond hair and yellow eyes, it was a different combination. There were brooms on the ground enough for all of them. She talked while she walked between them.

“Alright, I am Madame Hooch this is my first year as a teacher but don’t think I will be soft with you if you ignore my rules,” she said sternly. “I am the former chaser of Holyhead Harpies, I had to stop my professional life as a Quidditch player due to an unfortunate injury”

That explained the gasps from a few students when she walked out of the castle, she was an ex-Quidditch player.

“Now, each one of you will stand on the side of the broom with the broom staying on the side of the hand you use to write.

James stood on the right side of the broom like Peter did, Sirius and Remus were right-handed. His primary school teachers tried so hard for him to use his right hand to right, little they knew about his stubbornness.

“Now, I want you to say _Up_. Clearly and firmly. Like you are _ordering_ the broom” explained Madame Hooch.

The moment James said “Up” the broom was in his hand, as well as Remus’. Sirius and Peter stared at James in awe while James grinned like small child. Well, they figured Remus would do it because it was obvious he was very much trained in everything related to Quidditch. But James? That was a surprise. After a while everyone had their brooms in their hands.

“Now slowly mount your brooms,” said Madame Hooch. “If anyone does anything more than I say, I will personally make sure they never touch a broom again” she continued, she sounded very serious.

“If we are clear with the rules rise from the ground slowly by firmly stomping your feet to the ground, hover for a while and land back down by leaning back,” explained Madame Hooch.

James stomped his foot with the affirmative whistle from Madame Hooch, he felt his feet leave the ground, he felt so comfortable, this was actually very easy. He didn’t understand why he was so scared of this lesson.

“Well, someone’s a natural, you can apply to the Quidditch team next year kid” said Madame Hooch to James. “Probably as a Seeker or Chaser, you wouldn’t make a Beater” she continued, James knew the teams but the positions were a mess so he nodded and landed back. The boys already did their hovering, James was watching Lily intently, she was having trouble staying on the broom. _So it’s not blood related_ thought James, he was relieved for some reason.

After the lesson was done, James was beaming. For the first time he didn’t have to work harder than the others to achieve what they did, he was a _natural_ as Madame Hooch put it. Now it was time for a good Quidditch trivia lesson from Peter and Remus.

“I won’t even bother, mate” said Sirius when he sat next to James under that big tree they sat a few days back. “They are more invested than I am”

“Alright Jamie, are you ready? We’ll start simple” asked Peter, James gave a determined nod, he was going to learn whatever there was to learn before the game.

“There are seven players on each side. A Keeper, which is simple enough to understand, the keeper guards the 3 hoops so the opposite side can’t score” explained Remus. “Then there are two Beaters, who are—“

“Like the defense players in football” interrupted Peter, he acted like a translator. Everyone agreed that Remus was the Quidditch master.

“What he says” continued Remus. “Then we have three Chasers who try to get past the opposite side’s Keeper to score”

“Like forwards in football, yes?” asked James to Peter and received a smile and a nod in return. “But that’s six people in the pitch?”

“Well in Quidditch we have someone you don’t have in football” said Peter. “A Seeker.”

“Seekers job is to find the Snitch before the other team’s Seeker does” took over Remus. “Now, if you got the players time for the balls”

Sirius snickered.

“You pervert” mumbled Peter, Remus just rolled his eyes.

“The ball used to score is called a Quaffle” said Remus.

“A what??”

“Qu-af-fle” said Sirius slowly, James smacked him on the head to wipe that stupid grin off of his face.

“Beaters have wooden sticks to hit Bludgers, to stop Chasers from scoring. Now, Bludgers are very much like Sirius. Irritating, uncontrollable and self-ordained” explained Remus with a smirk. “However unlike Sirius, when they hit, it hurts”

“I will hex you into oblivion” threatened Sirius with a wide smile. Peter fell to his knees as he laughed.

They had been living together for a month and a half but it was like they had been friends for ten years. They went to classes together, ate together, slept together and laughed together. James found it funny that he didn’t had this kind of friendship with people from his school back in London for years but here it only took him one and a half months.

“Come on! I don’t have much time” yelled James.

“The Snitch. The ball that the Seeker has to catch. It’s very light-weight, almost impossible to follow. It’s golden and it has wings, it has a mind of his own and very unnecessary information but they have skin memories. They remember the person who caught them, a very good place to hide something small” explained Remus. Sirius and Peter gaped at him.

“I don’t know how he keeps all of this information in his brain” confessed Sirius with amazement in his voice.

“I’ll try to remember that for when I propose Lupin” teased James.

“First you have to catch one, Potter” he replied. “Each goal is 10 points and the Snitch is 150 points” Remus continued.

“The team who catches the Snitch wins” concluded Peter.

“Not always, there are some examples, very few mind you, but there are some games where the side who caught the Snitch lost” corrected Remus, he really was very interested in Quidditch, you could see his eyes shine when he was talking about it. Remus’ eyes didn’t shine very often; they were generally tired but today he was funny, vibrant and funny.

“So far, I’m good. Sounds a bit like football, except for the weird names and flying but I think I’m good” announced James to a very pleased Remus.

“Well I took this from the library for you. There are 7 fouls in Quidditch and I can’t be bothered, I need to write that Transfiguration essay” Remus said as he handed a battered copy of a book called _Quidditch Through the Ages_.

“We have an essay?!” exclaimed Peter, he sounded scared.

“Calm down, we haven’t done it either” said Sirius pointing to James and they heard a sigh of relief from Peter.

Saturday couldn’t come fast enough. James was very excited for the game, he read the book Remus lent him every night before he went to sleep and he felt like he was going to enjoy this game very much.

When Saturday came, they put on their scarfs and face paints and made their way to the Quidditch pitch. Before the game started Remus gave James one last explanation about the pitch.

The game was simple enough to understand but it was torture to watch. The Gryffindor team was falling to pieces. James noticed that as singular players all of them were good. The Keeper was a fair one, he kept the score gap getting way larger than it was now. The Beaters were twins with red hair, the ones James saw in Diagon Alley, both of them were pretty good with their aim but they always aimed the wrong person. James felt like the idea resembled football and so did the strategies which Gryffindor appeared to have none. After 20 minutes into the games James found himself yelling to the players.

“No! You! Hey! Yes, you! Don’t go for number 7, he is USELESS!”

Remus was staring at him like he was an alien.

“What?” James said, annoyed.

“I am just appreciating how good of a teacher I am” smiled Remus, then he kept James company as he yelled.

“Oi Black, tell your mates to keep down a notch!” shouted Lily from the other side.

“I will do no such thing Evans, look at them go! Next years’ Quidditch players!” answered Sirius. James turned around and grinned to Sirius but he felt like Remus was a little taken aback by that remark. Remus spotted Snitch at the exact same moment so he let it go.

“How do you see that _thing_?” protested James.

“20/20 vision Potter, I can’t say the same thing for you though” said Remus pushing James’ glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“Ha-ha Remus, very funny indeed” smirked James after sticking his tongue out at the other boy.

James never saw Peter like this before, he didn’t talk, he didn’t even mock Sirius. He was so concentrated on the game; he wouldn’t have noticed if a firework went off beside him.

When the game was over, James could see McGonagall’s disappointment on her face, it was a massacre really. James swore when he got on that team, _not if_ , he will make sure they won against Slytherin even if they lost against the other houses, just to avenge the embarrassment of this match.


	10. Birthday

October had passed with many lessons and homework. James was getting better at this magic thing but still he had to work so much more than the others. He thanked God for Remus’ existence because without the boy he probably would have failed History of Magic. He loved the flying classes the most because he didn’t have to work at all for that, it was like riding a bicycle.

November came with rain and on 3rd of November James woke up early since their first lesson was with McGonagall and he wanted to have proper breakfast, Remus had been gone for two days now and James looked at his empty bed before heading for the shower. He was gone at the beginning of October, too, James couldn’t keep himself from thinking. When he came back from the shower, Peter and Sirius were ready to go downstairs. They had stayed up last night talking about ways to make Hogwarts more _fun_ , but without Remus they couldn’t get very far.

When the owls brought the daily mail an owl dropped a box in front of Sirius which he didn’t seem very happy about, James recognised their family owl, the box must have been from Sirius’ parents. Peter stared curiously.

“Are you going to open that?” he blurted out.

“Well, I’m not sure what’s inside and I don’t want to open it here” answered Sirius, worry apparent in his grey eyes.

So the boys made their way out of the Great Hall and stood before the big staircase leading to the towers. Sirius carefully ripped the parchment and opened the box, in it was a small knife adorned with snakes and emeralds. It was a weird thing to send to a 11-year-old.

“What is _that_?” demanded Peter.

“Well, it’s a cauldron Petey... It’s a knife!” answered Sirius sarcastically.

“But why?” blurted out James before he could stop himself.

“Umm, because it’s my birthday today and my mother thought it was a good day to remind me of my ancestry. This belonged to my grandfather. She never gave me gifts before, she must be _very_ desperate”

James just gaped at Sirius with an utter disbelief, Peter looked like a lost puppy.

“Jamie why are you sta—“

“What do you mean it’s YOUR BIRTHDAY?” shouted James furiously. “WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY SOMETHING?”

“Jamie stop yelling” begged Sirius. “I mean it’s just my birthday, nothing important really”

“Nothing _important_?” roared Peter making a few fourth years look their way.

“Will you stop shouting?” hissed Sirius before he put the knife in his pocket with disgust on his face. “Now let’s go we will be late to McGee’s class.”

How could someone keep their birthday to themselves? James started announcing his birthday one month before and he counted down the days, he loved his birthdays. Sirius, on the other hand, didn’t sound like he enjoyed them very much. Well that had to change, didn’t it?

James spent almost an hour walking around the school looking for the kitchens but it was like it didn’t exist. He heard those twins from the Quidditch team talking about the kitchens but why couldn’t he find it anywhere?

When he came back to the common room looking defeated he found just the two people he was looking for.

“Uh, hey, sorry can I ask you something?” he said to the twins.

“Of course little one” they replied together.

“I just wanted to know where the kitchens are” queried James, with an innocent smile.

“What is your name? I remember you shouting from the Quidditch match”

“James, James Potter” said James, he had never thought they would hear him.

“Alright ickle Jamie, I’m Fabian and this is Gideon _and_ the kitchens are forbidden to the students” teased Fabian, he had a mischievous smile on his face.

“But it’s Sirius’ birthday and I want to have a cake for him” replied James. “I won’t tell _anyone_ ” he assured.

“Do you think we can trust the little grasshopper Fideon?”

“I think we can Gabian” answered the other twin, grinning. Their smiles were contagious and before he knew it James was grinning, too.

“But on one condition” said Fabian. “You’ll help us prank Slytherin for that idiotic game, we need someone small who can fit _somewhere_ ”

“Of course” beamed James, he wanted to get revenge for that match anyways, the sooner the better.

“Good. Now there’s a fruit bowl painting close to the Hufflepuff dorms. When you tickle the pear, it turns into a door handle and that’s where you enter the kitchens” described Gideon. “Good luck! Oh, also meet us this Saturday around 10 am here.”

James nodded and quickly made his way out of the common room and walked to the Hufflepuff dorms without the stairs changing for once. The painting was right there, where the twins described it to be. So James walked and not exactly sure of what he was doing, he tickled the pear and the pear _giggled_ right before turning into a door handle. When James walked into the kitchens he almost had a heart attack.

He was expecting the ladies from his previous school but this place had elves or that’s what James thought they were.

“Welcome Master, how may we be of service?” asked one as he bowed down to the floor.

“Master?” said James to himself. “I-I need a birthday cake for my friend, please” he stuttered.

“Of course, master” said another elf and hurried off.

To James’ astonishment the elf was back with a chocolate cake in mere minutes. James muttered a thank you as he made his way to the common room.

“I forgot candles” he said to Peter when he put the cake on one of the bed stands.

“I’m pretty sure Remus has a solution for that. Should we check the infirmary, maybe he’s there?” suggested Peter.

“Okay let’s give it a shot”

They left the cake hidden just in case Sirius decided to come back. He had disappeared after lessons but James thought he had to come back eventually. It was almost dinner time so Peter and James walked to the infirmary just to be greeted byMadame Pomfrey as always.

“Hello, Madame Pomfrey, we were wondering if Remus is here. If he is can you tell him, it’s Sirius’ birthday and we need him.”

“I—He’s here but I won’t be releasing him earlier than tomorrow” said Madame Pomfrey calmly.

“REMUS IT’S SIRIUS’ BIRTHDAY JUST SO YOU KNOW WE _NEED_ YOU!” yelled Peter before he grabbed James’ arm and started running. They stopped when they reached the Great Hall. “She was never gonna tell him, mate” said Peter as he was trying to catch his breath.

When they went inside Sirius was already at the table looking a little worn out. They went and sat with him, waiting for him to talk but it didn’t seem likely.

“Where have you been? We didn’t come looking for you because we thought you wanted to be alone” blurted out Peter, shooting an apologetic look at James.

“I went out to get some fresh air, I got carried away I guess” replied Sirius looking down at his empty plate. They ate their dinner in silence and made their way to their dorm.

When they climbed the tower, there was a very pale Remus Lupin holding a chocolate cake with candles on it waiting for them. James looked at him in awe.

“Happy birthday Siri” sang Remus as he held the cake in front of Sirius.

“What—“

“Well Peter and James here got the cake so _surprise_!” teased Remus with a smile, he looked even worse in candlelight. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world”

Sirius took a deep breath.

“No! You need to make a wish first” interrupted James.

“Sorry, I’ve never done this before. I’m not invited to the birthday ball thrown for me” said Sirius with a lop-sided smile.

“No we should have told you mate. Now make a wish and blow the candles out” admitted as he patted Sirius’ back.

Sirius closed his eyes and made a small wish before blowing the candles out.

“Thank you” stammered Sirius before sitting on his bed with the boys.

They ate the chocolate cake together as they talked loudly. Remus ate a little bit more than the others but his love for chocolate was on another level so the other three just laughed at him.

James was intrigued by these monthly visits of Remus. He always came back looking worse than ever and James wanted to help him but seeing Sirius so happy, he didn’t mention it.

When they went to bed late that night, Sirius slowly said “This was the best birthday ever”.

“Next year I will be prepared Black; this was nothing” replied James with a smirk.

 

* * *

 

James woke up to small whimpers coming from the bed next to him. Sirius was pushing his legs and he was struggling in his sleep. He got up and went to his bed trying to wake the boy up as his mother did.

“Sirius. Sirius!” he whispered firmly, trying not to wake the other boys up.

“No.. no. Mother please, no.”

“Sirius!” said James finally, jerking the raven haired boy.

“Huh?”

“You were having a nightmare” whispered James slowly. “Move a little” he said as he pushed Sirius aside.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing; my mum always sleeps with me after nightmares. Trust me it feels good. Now MOVE!”


	11. The Pranksters

It was 7 o’clock on a Saturday morning as James dragged himself out of his warm bed. He had promised the Prewett twins he’d be downstairs to help them with whatever it was their planning, it was this promise that allowed him to get the birthday cake for Sirius and James _never_ backed down from a promise, he had learnt that from his father.

When he went downstairs he saw that the twins were already very much awake.

“’ello there little grasshopper thought you couldn’t wake up” smiled Gideon, his hand filled with what looked like dungbombs.

“We are going down to the dungeons, we have a little surprise for the Slytherin boys” grinned Fabian, his eyes shone happily. “Now let’s get going before Filch starts doing his usual detours.”

“When Mols, our older sister, was the Head Girl we didn’t get to do as much damage as we would have like to, so this year onwards we are giving them hell,” explained Fabian, he was whispering but some of the habitants of the painting shuffled as he talked. The castle corridors were cold and it got colder as they approached the Slytherin dorms in the dungeons. Salazar Slytherin must have been one weird person because James could feel his teeth chattering from the cold. James had no idea how they were going to get in the dungeons without a password.

“Now what?”

“Patience, grasshopper” replied Gideon.

“ _Viperidae_ ” said Fabian clearly and the brick moved to the side to allow them in the Slytherin common room which was warmer than Gryffindor common room somehow.

“How did you learn their password?” asked James curiously.

“Well, turns out we have some fans in third year Slytherins” replied Fabian with a raised eyebrow.

In contrast with all the gold in their common room, Slytherin’s common room was adorned with silver snakes all around, it didn’t have windows that looked outside but they had higher ceilings that had small windows that let the sunshine in. As James was looking around he saw that the twins were already placing the dungbombs under every cushion they found so they would go off when someone sat on them. There were so many dungbombs if fifteen of them went off it would take days for the stink to go away. James felt a little sad for them and as always, his face had given away what he was feeling.

“Aw, grasshopper, don’t feel bad for them” teased Gideon. “Just remember how they screwed us in that match.”

 “Give me some,” whispered James, the humiliation he felt from that match was still in his veins. “You two are pretty good players actually” he added as the twins grinned at him. “It’s just that none of you talk while playing, you never know what the others will do and that just won’t work. _Ever_.”

“Little Potter knows his Quidditch”

“ _Well_ , leadership is not a strong virtue of our captain,” complained Fabian as he placed the last dungbomb he had. “Anyways, now’s your time to shine Potter, come here.”

James obeyed and walked where Fabian was standing.

“I need you to put these remaining dungbombs up.. there” said Fabian as he pointed to a small space close to the ceiling. “They can get rid of the dungbombs here but not the ones over there.”

“How will they go off though?” asked James, it seemed impossible.

“Have you met Peeves?”

“Who is that?”

“Peeves is a poltergeist that wants revenge on a few Slytherin students for telling on him to Bloody Baron. He will help and probably take the blame, too.” replied Gideon, smirking.

“How will I get there?”

“Potter, I thought you were a smart bloke. Are we wizards or not?” demanded Fabian as he directed his wand to James and whispered “ _Levicorpus_ ”

James was floating in the air and Fabian pushed him higher and higher until he reached to the small cavity in the wall. James placed the dungbombs and started falling down until Gideon yelled “ _Arresto Momento_ ” and James stopped his nose few inches from the dark green carpet. He got up hastily and suddenly all three of them were running out the Slytherin dorm as they had woken up half the Slytherin dorm.

When they reached the Great Hall, Gideon smacked his twin on the head.

“Couldn’t you hold the bloody spell a moment longer?”

“My fucking nose was itching, _sorry_ ” muttered Fabian as they made their way to the Gryffindor table.

Now it was time to wait.

It didn’t take long for the smell to get to the Great Hall, they had placed way too many dungbombs for the smell to be contained in the Slytherin common room. Peeves the poltergeist was smiling heavily as Fabian pointed at him and called him.

“So Peeves, this is James Potter. I think you’ll get alone fine when we are gone” introduced Gideon.

“Ickle-first year. Welcome to hell, four eyes,” he said giggling and then flew away.

Then came the Slytherins, all of them looking like they could murder someone and pinching their noses to keep out the smell but that was the thing with dungbombs, they always found a way in. James found it extremely hard to keep himself from laughing.

“Whoever this was I’ll get them and I will make them _pay_ ” hissed the girl with blonde hair that shouted at Sirius with the exact same tone at the beginning of the year.

“Try and catch me Cissy” yelled Peeves from a higher window, where he was comfortably sitting. “Bloody Baron can’t save you now”

“PEEVES!” roared Narcissa and she went for her wand just to be stopped by Professor Flitwick.

“Ms. Black, we’ll take care of Peeves, now please put your wand away or if you want to help with the cleaning up, I would be very glad” said the short man with a wide smile on his even smaller face.

“Ugh” moaned Narcissa as she sat down on the Slytherin table.

Hufflepuffs had to have their breakfast on Ravenclaw and Gryffindor tables because the smell coming off of the Slytherins was unbearable. Dumbledore had to attend the matter himself because the Slytherins were getting harder to control.

“I bet you it was those _blood traitors_ ” said Narcissa to a boy next to him, audible enough for Gideon and Fabian to flinch.

“What does that mean?”

“We are purebloods that don’t support whatever lunatic idea Blacks support, we very much like Muggles and think that Pureblood means nothing” explained Fabian, his fist curled up.

“Calm down, Fabian” warned Gideon as he stared at the teachers table. “Prove it, _Black_. Prove it was us and I’ll eat a bloody dungbomb” shouted Gideon over two tables causing a few Ravenclaw girls to snicker and stare at them with a spark in their eyes. There was no arguing that the twins were popular with the girls.

Just when Narcissa was about to reply, McGonagall ordered them to shut up or leave. James saw his friends enter Great Hall and excused himself from the twins to meet them and tell them what happened.

After telling them what went down in hushed voices, Sirius couldn’t be contained.

“I want to hug them or kiss them or buy them chocolate or something, this is brilliant” raved Sirius. “And they made the poltergeist take the blame, _brilliant_!”

“You should go ask for an autograph Sirius, looks like you are in love” teased Peter and Sirius smacked him slowly in the head but Remus and James were already laughing not so quietly.

“It could be better, you know” began Remus. “The prank I mean. The hardest part is getting the password and making sure no one knows it’s you. Dungbombs are very… _old-fashioned_ ”

“You have a better idea, Lupin?” asked Sirius curiously.

“If ever we need it, I might have.”


	12. Holiday Season

James didn’t know what to feel as the Christmas holiday drew closer. He missed his parents but the life he had right here in Hogwarts was too _magical_ to let go of, pun very much intended. The way the Great Hall lit up with literally floating fairy lights and how it was surrounded by the biggest trees James had ever seen made him want to stay but all of his friends were returning to their homes so there was no point in staying.

Sirius wasn’t looking happy to be going home and his nightmares were getting worse each night, James had spent the week before the holidays in Sirius’ bed, because the pale skinned boy couldn’t seem to sleep alone. James was very worried about how his parents would react to his house and wanted to check on him as frequently as he can. He had also asked him to come back home with him, Euphemia and Fleamont would happily accommodate Sirius but he wanted to see Regulus.

When they got on the train, Remus almost instantly fell asleep for the unknown reason he always does every month, James was starting to think he was chronically ill but was hiding it because someone would make fun of it, he could at least tell his friends but Remus was a pretty secretive boy and the fact that he was actually friends with them was a progress. Peter was staring at the door every two minutes for the trolley and Sirius was paler than ever.

“Mate, you alright?” whispered James as he tried to catch his eyes.

“I’m fine,” said Sirius but he was looking so far from fine and James hated to push people but he wasn’t letting this one go.

“I’m _serious_ ,” he began with a smile hoping that the boy across him would appreciate the pun but for the first time Sirius’ lip didn’t even twitch. “You can stay with one of us Sirius, if it will make you this miserable I don’t want you to—“

“James, I said I’m FINE,” yelled back Sirius as he left the compartment, he had woken Remus up.

“What the hell is wrong with him?” he asked sleepily. “You should really let the parent thing go Jamie.”

“I just can’t, okay?” he protested. “How are you two alright with him going somewhere he is so scared of?”

“When did we ever change Sirius’ mind ever since we met?” demanded Peter. “He wants to go see and most probably check on Regulus, to see if he’s alright.”

“Yeah, I know b—“

“Let it go for once, Jamie?” pleaded Remus, he was pulling his coat around himself as he tried to convince James.

“I—alright,” he gave up, there was no point in arguing because Peter had a point, Sirius was always self ordained, every time Lily warned him about not doing something in Potions, he didn’t listen and got himself in trouble. Thankfully, he was as good at getting out of trouble as he was getting in one.

Sirius came back half an hour later visibly calmed down about the small argument with James but still on edge nevertheless. They didn’t talk until they were about to reach King’s Cross. When they were about to get off, James made each of them give him their addresses so he can owl them when he wanted to.

James walked a little bit behind Sirius in hopes of seeing his parents and he recognised them as he saw a smaller version of Sirius, with a less structured face and a taller figure. Behind his glowing smile were the sternest people James had ever seen and he was scared of Lily’s mother when he first saw her. They were standing as though their expressions wouldn’t change if someone was killed right in front of them and James took pride in not being afraid of anything but they made him shiver, now he understood why Sirius dreaded going back home. James put a warm hand on Sirius’ shoulder to encourage him and he turned around to give him a shy smile before he hurried off to meet his family.

He watched Remus drag his trunk as he walked towards a man that looked very much like him but had grey hair. His father ran towards him to get the trunk from Remus and hugged his son like he hadn’t hugged him in the past ten years, it was good to know that out of all people Remus had a loving family.

James looked around and saw that his parents were standing very close to the entrance waving at him with the biggest smiles and Peter was next to him waving at the same direction smiling.

“They are my parents mate,” said James as he patted him on the back.

“You are an idiot James, my parents are standing right next to yours,” he shot back with a grin on his face. “Now come, I’m excited for our parents to meet, maybe they’ll let you stay at our place over the summer for you to practice Quidditch?”

That sounded like an awesome plan since James made it his mission to get on the Gryffindor Quidditch team but if he flew on a broomstick in the middle of London, it wouldn’t be the best idea. So they pulled their trunks together towards their parents as they talked about how wonderful it would be to spend the summer holidays together.

After what seemed like hours of conversation between Peter’s parents and his, James was finally in his own bed, not that he didn’t like the four poster bed Hogwarts provided him but his always smelt like home and James loved that. However, he missed the familiar noise his friends made and when he thought about that he instantly jumped out of bed and took a paper and a pen out of his drawer, he had no intention of dealing with the trouble of parchment and ink. He started writing the address Sirius have him on the envelope before he started writing the letter.

_Grimmauld Place, 12_

_Sirius Black_

James didn’t know how to write what he wanted to write so he made it simple as can be.

_Sirius I know you don’t want to talk about it but whenever you need it I’ll be here to listen. I understand if you can’t owl me back and I’ll see you on the train back._

He folded the paper carefully as he put it in the envelope and went downstairs where his parents kept their owl which James had named Quaffle because it sounded like a good name for something that flies. He tied the envelope to his leg and let the bird out of the kitchen window.

James sat down at the table with his parents feeling thankful that they were nothing like the Black Family and started telling about everything that didn’t fit in the letters he sent back home, he was mostly excited to talk about his new friends and he didn’t touch his food for a good fifteen minutes because he was so caught up in telling how Sirius’ family was not good to him, how he was worried for Remus’ condition and how Peter was everything he didn’t seem to be. It sure was good to be home but James couldn’t help but feel out of place here because he wasn’t allowed to do most of the things he got so used to doing, that summer holiday idea sounded better and better with each passing minute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I have been updating so slowly but I just had many other ideas that I felt like I could write better. I hope to update this fic more frequently but I can't promise anything and I'm sorry about that.  
> Happy holidays everyone, I hope you like this.  
> (First year is a bit boring and I'm aware but second year will be mayhem)


End file.
